Production of Clean Slag at Metallo Belgium

M. Chintinne, C. Geenen, B. Coletti, S. Smets

Metallo specialises in the smelting and refining of complex non-ferrous scrap. Many different raw materials enter the process to be refined to pure copper, tin and lead. Nickel, zinc and precious metals are partially valorised. In this paper, the Metallo process is presented, with particular emphasis on the complexity of the incoming raw materials. Metallo’s newest investment, the Slag Treatment Unit (STU), targets better valorisation of zinc and the production of a clean mineral product called Koranel®. The core of the STU is a fuming reactor, using submerged plasma technology. The STU is designed to treat fayalitic copper slag and recover metals (copper bullion) and oxides (zinc and lead dust). The most important product however is Koranel®: a mineral product with very low levels of metal and excellent environmental performance. Some potential applications for Koranel ® are discussed.